Biggles and the Black Raider/plot
Chapter 1: Dark Deeds There has been a wave of terror sweeping through the countries of East and South Africa. An African named Cetezulu, also known as the "Black Elephant" has moved through the region with a large gang, killing, raiding farmsteads, burning villages and pillaging the cattle. He must be stopped but the search area is more than half a million square miles and he has been known to move more than 50 miles a day. It is a job for aircraft so Air Commodore Raymond hands it to Biggles and co, Chapter 2: Plans and Preparations Biggles brings his whole crew and three aircraft to set up base at Kampala where they recruit the help of Mishu, a Masai warrior whose employer, Major Harvey had been killed by Cetezulu. After some days a message comes that the BlackElephant has killed a safari party at Ulunga at the southern tip of Lake Tanganika. Biggles surmises that the Black Elephant is moving north and needs to stay near water for his cattle. Mishu suggests that they fly him to his tribe's reservation at Illumbwa at the northern tip of the Lake. The Black Elephant must pass through his tribal lands and would be spotted. Chapter 3: A Close Thing Ginger flies Mishu in an Auster to Illumbwa where he camps for the night. In the morning he is awakened by some noise and sees some men. The Black Elephant! They spot him and he and Mishu execute a hasty take off just in time. They return to Kampala with assegai stuck in their fuselage. Chapter 4: Tricked They try to locate the Black Elephant but he lights smoke screens to shield his men and cattle herds. Biggles still thinks he is moving north and keeping to the line of lakes in the Western Rift Valley. Mishu now suggests that they land him at Latonga, at the northern end near Lake Albert, on the Elephant's route. Mishu can watch for the Elephant there. Chapter 5: Visbility Zero Ginger flies Mishu to Latonga. At the government rest-house there he meets Simmonds, an assistant game ranger who was on the lookout for poachers in the area. Flying back to Kampala, the Auster is caught in a thunderstorm and Ginger loses his way. Out of fuel, he crash lands on a mountainside. Chapter 6: An Illuminating Discovery Biggles soon locates Ginger and tells him to move eastwards to a spot where an aircraft can land to pick him up. Ginger moves downslope to the east. Here he has a brief encounter with an angry gorilla and then enters a bamboo swamp. He discovers a broad track cut into the bamboo stretching south to north with signs that a herd of cattle have passed through recently. This must be a secret road which the Black Elephant uses to move his stolen cattle! Chapter 7: A Busy Morning Biggles lands his Mosquito just beyond the bamboo swamp. Approaching the aircraft, Ginger spots the Black Elephant with a score of his warriors forming up in preparation to attack. Ginger does the only thing. Climbing up a tree, he fires a shot at a spot close to Bertie. Everyone gets the warning and gets back to the Mosquito in time. The Elephant's warriors charge but Bertie and Algy pick up the tail of the Mosquito and swings it around, allowing Biggles to fire its machine guns at the attackers. The assault is beaten off and Ginger is able to rejoin his friends and tell them what happened. Chapter 8: Death Intervenes Returning to Kampala, they meet Bruce Allan, a young pilot who has brought out a Puss Moth to look for his father. Biggles invites him over for tea but he doesn't show up. Out on a patrol, Biggles and Ginger in the Proctor spots the Puss Moth on the ground with Allen dead inside, shot, it would seem, by one of the Black Elephant's guns. Depressed, everyone returns to Kampala. Chapter 9: Wheels Within Wheels But Allen had not died in vain. He had plotted his line of flight on his map and this allows Biggles to estimate the Black Elephant's position. They could not intervene as long as the Elephant remained in the bamboo swamp so they decide to fly to Latonga which is located at the northern end of the bamboo swamp but find no sign of Mishu. The villagers at Latonga tell Biggles they never saw Mishu but he suspects they are lying. So he sends Algy and Bertie off in the Procter while he and Ginger watch the village from cover. At night, they see the villagers bring Mishu all gagged and bound and abandon him to the wild animals. Biggles and Ginger rescue Mishu and he tells them what happened. Chapter 10: Footprints Tell a Tale According to Mishu, the villagers had found Simmonds murdered. Afraid of the consequences, they had buried the body. Mishu had found the grave and then the villagers had kidnapped Mishu to keep things quiet. Mishu had also found tracks leading to where Simmonds had been killed and had found and retrieved Simmond's camera. Biggles sends Algy to Kampala to have the film developed. The photos show poached ivory being purchased by a large bearded man--Simmond's murderer. Mishu had heard about this man--a trader in poached products. He had come from Ethiopia but was still around--his tracks from where he killed Simmonds pointed southwest. Algy and Bertie later spot the man's camp about 25 miles southwest of Latonga, between the northen limit of the bamboo and a belt of elephant grass. Chapter 11: A Soldier Takes a Hand At Latonga, Biggles and co. meet Lieutenant Haynes who had come with a detachment of Askaris to investigate reports that Simmonds had disappeared. Biggles shows Haynes the photos Simmonds had taken and Haynes identifies the bearded man as one Bronnou, formerly a German spy, he resided in Addis Ababa and now traded in illegal ivory and other commodities. Biggles flies Haynes to Bronnou's camp where, after a brief struggle, he is arrested. They find Simmond's rifle there and also a large box full of money--Biggles suspects Bronnou may be the buyer of Cetezulu's cattle, and his camp is the rendezvous. Bronnou is taken away but then they hear cattle--the Black Elephant has arrived! Chapter 12: The Great Stampede The Black Elephant takes sets up camp with his gang and herds in the elephant grass, thinking he would be immune from intereference. However Biggles has a plan. Haynes moves most of his men to set up a cordon around the grass while Biggles stampedes the large herd of cattle by buzzing them with his Mosquito's Merlin engines. In the ensuing chaos, the Black Elephant's gang disperses. Most of them run out of the grass to be captured by Haynes' Askaris. Meanwhile, Mishu enters the elephant grass and finds the Black Elephant. There is a brief combat but Mishu manages to bring the Black Elephant down with his assegai, thus settling a personal score and also bringing to an end the wave of terror spread by one who would be the Emperor of Africa. Category:Plot summaries